A volume of fluid, such as air, may be characterized by a temperature and pressure. When considered as a collection of constituent particles, comprising, for example, molecules of oxygen and nitrogen, the volume of fluid at a given temperature may also be characterized as a distribution of constituent particle speeds. This distribution may characterized, generally, by an average speed which is understood to bear a relationship with the temperature of the fluid (as a gas).
Accordingly, the internal thermal energy of a fluid provides a source of energy for applications related to heating, cooling, and the generation of fluid flow. One manner of exploiting the internal thermal energy of a fluid, such as a gas, has been described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,008,176 and 6,932,564, herein fully incorporated by reference.
Where the device for exploiting the internal thermal energy of a fluid, such as a gas, operates by selecting the constituent particles of the fluid based upon the use of moving parts to select the particles direction of movement or its velocity, there exists a need for a method and device that can control fluid flow and temperature, but that is not based upon such moving parts.
It is accordingly a primary object of the invention to provide a solution for systems and methods that benefit from cooling, heating, and/or flow control of a fluid but that operate upon principles that do not rely upon moving parts.
This is achieved by the manufacture and use of systems that utilize one or more micro-scale channels (a “micro channel”) that are configured to accommodate the flow of a fluid, and where the walls of the micro channel and the constituent particles in the fluid are configured such that collisions between the constituent particles and the walls of the micro channel are substantially specular.